I only have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Pencader. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Pencader.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Pencader which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Pencader is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Pencader conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Pencader where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Pencader conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Pencader from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pencader can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Pencader charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pencader.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Pencader state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Pencader home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What makes a Pencader lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Pencader is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Pencader Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying